Avengers: Heroes or Masters
by cornholio4
Summary: The Avengers have their work cut out for them when they have to fight to save the world from several villains, including the return of their leader's greatest enemy the Red Skull! Cap/Widow. In the same universe as Spider-Man: Revenge of the Nerd. Credit to Tvfan for coming up with the title.
1. Chapter 1

**This takes place in the same universe as Spider-Man: Revenge of the Nerd and takes place after it, although it is not required to read for this story. Credit to Tvfan for the title.**

 **Undisclosed location**

 **May 5 1945**

A short man in a labcoat and wearing glasses was working on a casket shaped machine while a figure was watching. "I am waiting Doctor Zola." The figure told the man impatiently looking down at the man who responded with annoyance.

"I am sorry but I am going as fast as I can and with everything that has happened and is happening, there is a lot on my mind..." the man known as Arnim Zola told the main his frustration growing. "The Fuhrer is dead, Lohmer and Koening have been captured, Strucker has disappeared and our country will be signing a surrender in two days. The fact is that I will have to go into hiding after this and it seems like there is not much left for us when everyone starts hunting for our blood..." Zola continued only to be stopped by the figure raising his hand.

"All the reason for us to wait, wait for a few decades until we are free to make our mark. Right now while the American soldier is now gone his country will have a big victory once that treaty of surrender has been signed. We will simply wait, our dreams of global conquest will not die out and we just wait until a time that we can start over. I have plans that can be continued in whatever time and place the future will hold for us." The man said stepping out of the shadow corner of the room.

"There will be a time were once again the world shall tremble at the Red Skull." The man said, he had dark red skin and his skull like head was completely bald. He was wearing a SS Officer's jacket and hat over a black wetsuit.

"It is ready Skull, be grateful I am allowing you to use the only one of these machines that I have managed to build. Before I go into hiding, I will make sure you are safely locked away to be reawakened when what you represent is needed again." Zola told the man known as the Red Skull. The Red Skull then placed himself inside the machine and closed his eyes as Zola shut the lid and then activated the machine. Once the machine was on he then entered the code to lock the man inside.

" _Once I lock this away, time to think of plans for my future._ " Zola thought as he looked to a computer monitor and stared at himself in the reflection...

 **AVENGERS TOWER, NEW YORK**

 **PRESENT DAY**

In the headquarters of the world famous Avengers, Avengers member and billionaire scientist and philanthropist Tony Stark was looking at several holograms of various news articles and reports. In came in was a man in a black full body suit with gloves which had claws attached to it, boots, a belt and a full face mask with panther ears attached to it. "Well if it isn't the king himself. T'Challa I wonder how you run a country along with being an Avenger." Tony said noticing the man there.

The man was T'Challa the current ruling monarch of the African nation known as Wakanda and holder of the country's ceremonial title of the Black Panther. "Guess who is back Stark." T'Challa said pointing to the door and not bothering to respond to any of Tony's comments. Then entered a couple holding hands. The man had blonde hair, was tall, muscular and was wearing a blue suit. This man was Steve Rogers the legendary Captain America who was the first superhero and served in World War II before an incident with german nobleman Baron Heinrich Zemo got him frozen where he stayed until he got thawed out ten years ago and became the leader of the Avengers. The woman was very beautiful, had red hair and was wearing a red dress. This woman was Natasha Romanoff-Rogers the Black Widow, a former Russian assassin who joined with the anti terrorist organisation SHIELD and turned over a new leaf. The couple had recently gotten married and were back from their honeymoon.

"Hey here are Mr and Mrs America, so does Cap still have a healthy libido despite all the time he spent in ice?" Tony asked and the couple just shook their heads along with T'Challa. "Well if you two lovebirds are ready to work again there are things that we can work on." Tony said and the faces on Steve and Natasha showed that they were ready for the field again after having their rest.

"Well Cap, here is a report of someone who you may know quite well." Tony said bringing up a hologram of a large muscular man in black body armor and a black full face mask with a white skull on it. Steve knew who it was and faced even faced him before; Brock Rumlow or Crossbones as he goes by a mercenary who has worked with criminal organisations such as Hydra before.

"Well these sources have managed to find out Crossbones here, for the past few months has been getting resources from some criminal guy by the name of Max Lohmer, been arrested before in accounts to several attacks by Neo-Nazi groups and he seems to be related to a guy Cap fought back in the war..." Tony said only to look at Steve's face which had some realisation to what person he was talking about. "Care to tell us who the guy's relative is Cap?" Tony asked as everyone turned to their leader.

"Wilhelm Lohmer." Steve said beginning to explain an old foe "he was an American traitor who joined with the Nazis. He was the test subject for the Mastermann Project, an attempt by Zola to create super soldiers for the Nazis, Zola used the Red Skull's blood to try and improve the imperfect serum that the Skull forced Doctor Erskine to give him. Lohmer was the only subject that Zola tested it on, seemed to repeat the success that the actual serum had on me but it made him almost as insane as the Skull. The Nazis called him Master Man and he joined the Skull in being the Nazi's poster boys until I led the Howling Commandos on a mission that resulted in his captured. From reports I read after being thawed, it seemed the serum backfired on him in captivity." As Steve was giving his explanation, Tony had his artificial intelligence JARVIS search for 'Master Man' and several Nazi propaganda posters were shown.

When Steve, Natasha and T'Challa noticed this they just looked at the posters and Steve glared at them, giving bad memories of a past foe. Tony then had the posters changed to American propaganda posters featuring Steve in his first Captain America uniform and had the song _Star Spangled Man with a Plan_ playing. "Better?" Tony asked and Natasha was contemplating hitting Tony for what she perceived as him mocking her husband.

"We will better just prepare ourselves for whatever Crossbones is planning with Lohmer." Steve said as Tony dismissed the holograms. Steve and Natasha then left the room arm in arm, T'Challa then left the room leaving Tony to wonder what to do next.

*TA:HOM*

 **A MONTH AND A HALF AGO**

 **SECRET BASE**

Brock Rumlow the man known as Crossbones was now looking at a certain machine that he had managed to find. " _Finally, after all of these countless years searching for this and after having to work with Lohmer. It has finally paid off, I just hope the unlock code that Zola gave me works._ " Rumlow thought gleefully as he was entering something on the machine's keyboard. The machine made a sound to show that it was turned off and then he pressed more buttons which caused the lid of the machine to open.

 **The use of the Mastermann Project comes from the Captain America: Super Soldier videogame. Like I said in a chapter of Revenge of the Nerd, I am a big Cap and Widow shipper. Next chapter we will see more of our villains as well more members of the Avengers team.**


	2. Chapter 2

In the present day and inside a secret base, Rumlow was talking with a yellow haired man in street clothes. "I have given you resources including men and yet I have gotten nothing from you so far!" the man called Max Lohmer yelled at Rumlow "if you start holding your end of our bargain then I may just rip that mask off your face and..." Lohmer was not able to continue as Rumlow had lifted him up by the collar and was now glaring at him through his mask.

"Be patient and you will get what I promised but never take that tone to me again, I can always find someone else to get men from and there are always other people to give what you want to." Rumlow said before letting him drop to the ground. "I have a guest to attend to; stop demanding like a brat and you will get what you want." Rumlow said leaving and going upstairs to a room.

The room was decorated like a luxury suite in a five star hotel. Sitting on a couch wearing a black night robe watching TV was none other than the man infamously known as the Red Skull. On the TV was a news report of Captain America and the Avengers saving the Mayor of New York from a kidnapping attempt by Hydra. "Apparently it seems the American soldier survived all these years as did I, while I was resting comfortably in suspended animation the Captain was in a block of ice somewhere in the arctic. The Captain seems to have a head start in this new time putting together circus freaks to act like heroes." The Skull said turning off the TV and walking to a window as he stared outside.

"Rogers and those Avengers do not hold a candle to you sir..." Rumlow told him acting nervously and excitedly as if he was a fan meeting some A-list celebrity. "I have been a fan since I read about you and your accomplishments in High School, I can't beleive I was the one to find you..." Rumlow continued as he started stuttering in his speech. "I have some guy called Lohmer to work for us, his great uncle worked for you but right now he is a nobody... at your orders we can start to continue your marvellous work..." Rumlow continued in his fanboy speech as his idol then addressed him.

 **The Vault**

In the top secret SHIELD super-human prison known as the Vault, in the cellblocks were the guards who were all armed and wearing dark blue SHIELD agent bodysuits. The only staff member present who was not wearing the agent uniform was a brown haired man in a business suit and sunglasses. He was high ranked SHIELD agent and warden for the Vault, Phil Coulson, "...send someone to retrieve the report from the Flatiron Building, ask for one of Damage Control's top executives a John Porter..." Coulson said on his cell phone passing several cells which had the names of the current inmate inside of them as well as their codenames from " **CARL CREEL, THE ABSORBING MAN** " to " **ARTHUR PARKS, LIVING LASER** ".

He stopped outside a cell which had banging inside, it was marked " **THADDEUS ROSS, RED HULK** " and inside was a white haired old man with a white moustache wearing an orange prisoner's uniform angrily struggling against the operating table like binds that he was in. "You might as well give up Thunderbolt, your cell arrangements can hold the Frankenstein's Monster... I know because we actually once had Frankenstein's Monster in that cell..." Coulson then walked off.

Soon afterwards he was in his office packing up his stuff when walked in was a bald headed black man with an eyepatch and a mainly black attire that included a black coat. "Director Fury, I am just packing up since my shift is ending and I am going to spend some time with my wife... I think you've met Audrey before..." Coulson said greeting Nick Fury the Director of SHIELD. Fury then laughed saying he has before getting down to business.

"Coulson, I just wanted to let you know something that just yesterday a group of masked mercenaries raided a SHIELD facility, people being skull and crossbones on their outfits so it is incredibly likely that they are working for Brock Rumlow." Fury told him and instantly Coulson looked alarmed. "They had stolen weapons, some files confiscated from old Nazi bases back in the war and a certain piece of hardware along with a certain blood sample..." Fury told them as he then whispered into Coulson's ear making him more alarmed.

"So be on your guard and we might need some good agents and maybe an Avenger or two when something comes up." Fury told him and Coulson saluted. He then smiled as he finished saying "oh and Coulson, if you want more time with your wife then you still have vacation days to cash in..."

 **THE NEXT DAY**

 **AVENGERS TOWER**

In the bar of the place were three of the Avengers members sitting and drinking. One was a man who seemed be made of purple energy who was Simon Williams the Wonder Man. One was a black man with a goatee wearing red goggles and a red military combat suit with wings attached from the arms to a red backpack on his back, he was Sam Wilson the Flacon. Finally there was a large muscular man with long blonde hair, a silver helmet with wings, dark blue armor which had sleeves of chainmail and a long flowing cape. He also had next to him hammer with a short brown handle which seemed to have writing on it. He was known as the Mighty Thor.

They were watching the bar's TV set and on the news was a black haired green skinned large muscular man about five times the size of a normal man. He was known as their Avengers teammate, the Incredible Hulk and he was standing next to an unconscious man in knight's armor with the helmet and as word several feet away from him. " _This was the scene a couple of minutes ago when Arthur Blackwood who calls himself the Crusaders was found in New York Times Square demanding that the Avenger Thor come and face him. However the Hulk showed up and made quick work of the startled Mr Blackwood who did not notice the Hulk until his 'smashing began'..._ "

"Thank my father that Hulk took care of that Crusader for me..." Thor muttered, Arthur Blackwood was a seminary student who got his power from his sword and armor and often fight Thor who he found his claims of being a god blasphemous. "I never see him going after Hercules or Ares..." Thor then said as the three then continued their drinks.

 **CROSSBONE'S HIDEOUT**

The Red Skull was now dressed in a black business suit following Rumlow (who was still as giddy as a fanboy in front of the Skull) down to a lab saying there was something that Rumlow wanted to show him. He turned the lights on and there was a large silver humanoid robot (roughly a bit taller than an Olympic bodybuilder) with a visor for a head and panels in front of the waist. "So Rumlow is this a weapon of some sort." The Red Skull asked a bit intrigued by the robot and he was surprised that Rumlow stopped his fanboy act to laugh sinisterly as he took out a CD case which was marked " **ZOLA** ".

"No sir, an ally that you know yourself..." Rumlow said pressing a button on the robot which caused a CD holder to open up which he then inserted and closed it. The robot seemed to be turned on and the visor at the top of the robot now had a red circle of light to it. The panels of the robot opened up to reveal a computer screen which was then turned on to reveal a green face with glasses.

" **Ah Crossbones, you took your time setting me back up again, so did you find the project I asked for you to find... what's this? Could it be?** " the robot then said in a mechanical voice (though it sounded human like a voice that red Skull remembered) with the mouth of the screen's face moving along with it and then it noticed the skull. The face then smiled and said " **Nice to see that you have been found my old benefactor, it has been far too long Skull.** "

The Skull did not know how this was possible but he was astonished and intrigued and guessed that he had awoken in an age where nothing was impossible. The Skull smiled and then greeted back saying "you're right, it has been far too long... Doctor Zola!"

 **I edited the last chapter to replace Helmut with Heinrich and thanks to Reborn Dark Phoenix for pointing it out. Wonder Man's appearance is how he looked in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (out of all of Wonder Man's looks, I like his ionic one the best) and for Falcon think his Avengers: Age of Ultron get up only completely red. Coulson being married to the cellist Audrey is something I used in a previous story that I deleted and like with Frank Castle staying happy with his family in Spider-Man: Revenge of the Nerd, I decided that Coulson gets a happy life in this universe as well (not everything is changed to make everything happier, there are still really evil villains and Uncle Ben is still dead).**

 **One more thing: yes the Frankenstein Monster has actually been a Marvel character even starring in his own series (as well as Dracula).**


End file.
